In a somewhat interesting article on HBO.com, James Kirkland and Max Kellerman disagree about the quality of Joel Julio.
Said Kirkland:
"Don't get me wrong," he said, "cause I never look past anybody I fight. But to tell you the truth, I just don't see this as being that big in terms of my opponent, because Julio has two losses on his record now and they both came to southpaws. And he's never faced up against a southpaw like me."
And Kellerman:
"This is definitely James Kirkland's first major league fight," Kellerman told me. "Before this it was like triple-A and now this is a major league fight he's having on Saturday. And if he wins this one, and then one more major league fight, then he'll be looking at the postseason, the really big fights."
Kellerman also added his frank opinion on where Kirkland's at career-wise:
"I actually think Kirkland is two losses away from getting bounced back to the pack," he said. "When you think about it, the only fighter in recent years who attacks with the same immediacy and urgency that Kirkland does is Michael Katsidis. And it took two losses for Katsidis to get bounced backwards, Casamayor and then Juan Diaz. Guys like Kirkland and Katsidis - people like to watch them not only because they win, but because it's such constant, naked aggression when they fight. And that makes them a little different than anyone else."
I'm glad he said "If you think about it..." That's like a David Milch show with "anyways" used constantly as the transition in topic.
Kellerman was recently ripped to shreds by Steve Bunce, who is full of hot air (and other things sometimes) himself:
Max and Bunce should fight it out, but Bunce better look out. Max is harassin' punks like Mike Tyson:
I'm also including a poll here, because Kellerman's starting to meet a TON of criticism, and even though I've tried to like him, even I'm leaning toward just flat-out not being able to stand him at times lately.